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Name: ______Section #: ______
Strong Interest Inventory Worksheet
This worksheet is designed to help you understand and utilize your score of the Strong Interest Inventory.
Step One: The hexagon
Step Two: The four W’s
WHO am I?
The essence of who you are-at school or work, at home or play.
Constant characteristics that define you to yourself.
Look at your theme on page 2 of the New Version (NV) of the SII report, or p.7 of the Old Version (OV). Record your theme in the section marked theme below. Now, look at the descriptions of your code in the hexagon text box above as well as the theme descriptions on page 2 of your profile. Referring to the 1, 2, or 3 letters of your code, list in the chart below words and phrases that describe you best.
My Strong theme and who I am…Theme / Descriptors
WHAT do I want to Do?
The tasks you most enjoy doing, often referred to as your motivating skills.
What am I interested in? What would I be good at?
Similar between career exploration and choosing a major.
Preferred work tasks that can be translated into skill sets.
This activity will help you use your top ten Strong occupations to identify specific tasks you may enjoy. This will be useful when you consider which of these tasks might become a part of your career plan.
1. Find the descriptions of your top ten occupations listed on page 4 (NV) or page 1 (OV) of your report. You can do this by:
a. Looking at the Strong Interpretive report (pages 5 & 6)
b. America’s Job Bank (www.ajb.dni.us). Click the link for Labor Market Info. Then click either Research Occupational Wages and Trends or Find Additional Sources for Labor Market Information
c. O*NET OnLine (http://online.onetcenter.org)
d. The O*NET Dictionary of Occupational Titles available in public and university libraries (could check the career center too!!!)
2. Under Occupational Scale in the chart above, list the ten Occupational scales from your profile. MAKE SURE to include ALL of the job titles listed.
3. Review the descriptions of the occupations in the resource you have chosen,
4. Write the action verbs and phrases that appeal to you from the descriptions. MAKE SURE you DO NOT include parts of the descriptions that do not hold any interest for you.
You can make another copy of this chart to include Occupational Scales from pages 5-7 on which you scored a 40 or higher. If you do this, list the occupations in rank order, with the highest first.
Strong occupations and work tasksOccupational Scale / Appealing words or phrases
Example:
Attorney / Advises clients, develops strategy, gathers evidence, interviews clients and witnesses, represents clients (phrases taken from the O*NET description of lawyers)
--Look at your top 5 Basic Interest Scales listed on page 3 (NV) or pages 1 & 2 (OV) of your profile. You can also find other Basic Interest Scales in which you scored “High Interest” or “Very High Interest” on page 3.
--List these basic interests in the appropriate column below. Then, list the work takes that might be suggested by your highest basic interests and list those in the appropriate column below.
Strong Basic Interests and Work TasksBasic Interest Scale / Work Tasks
Example:
-Visual Arts and Design / Example:
-illustrating stories or scientific subjects, creating public relations materials, interior design, photography, or technical writing.
WHERE Do I Want to Do It?
What type of environment is motivating for you?
You probably considered this question in evaluating various college and university campuses when applying.
In career exploration, it may represent a particular organizational setting, the kind of business you might like to start, or the setting for certain kinds of leisure and volunteer activities you’d like to pursue.
A motivating environment is one in which you have a great deal in common with others who are drawn to the same setting.
The theory behind the Strong instrument suggests that environments are shaped by the people who are attracted to them. Makes sense, right? While completing this chart, you may find that some of the descriptors that you listed in the WHO section are also listed in this chart.
What to do:
1. Write the Strong theme code that is listed on page 2 (NV) or page 1 (OV – first graphic) of the profile under theme(s) in column one. Then, in column two, write the corresponding words or phrases that describes the theme(s) from the source that you found. (Also found in the first chart.)
2. Looking at page 3 of your profile, review the list of your five HIGHEST Basic Interest Scales. From this information, write environments in which you could express those basic interests in the second column. For example: interest in Programming & Information Systems could be expressed in an accounting firm, an investment firm, an online service, or a statistical research department.
3. Looking at page 8 of the profile, find the graph that shows your results on the Work Style scale. In column 2, based on the graph indicate the amount of people contact you might enjoy.
Where to express Strong InterestsStrong Scale / Environmental Descriptions
Theme(s):
Basic Interest Scales
Work Style
WHY Do I Want to Do It?
What is internally motivating you?
People, who incorporate their own personal value system in their work, feel a real sense of accomplishment in making a difference in the world. Almost a sense of what they are doing in the lines of an occupation is what they were truly meant to be doing with their lives.
Your themes indicate influential work motivators:
-Why do you want to work?
-What is it about this line of work that will add meaning to your life?
This chart will help you determine what it is that will help give meaning to your work!
1. Highlight your top one to three Themes in column 1 and corresponding motivators in column 2.
2. Write a few phrases in the last row describing how the motivators you highlighted blend together to describe what is important to you---in work or other areas of your life.
Strong Theme and Why I Want to WorkStrong Theme / Work Motivator
Realistic (R)
Investigative (I)
Artistic (A)
Social (S)
Enterprising (E)
Conventional (C) / Mastering the physical universe: using hands-on skills to produce tangible results
Analyzing data and written information to probe questions of intellectual curiosity
Expressing oneself in the creation of an art for or the appreciation of beauty
Helping others to know, grow, change, and get along for the betterment of humanity
Persuading others of the merits of an idea or product; dedication to organizational goals
Organizing information and bringing order to fragments of data in order to make decisions
How my motivators blend to explain my Why:
Reflection:
Write 3-4 paragraphs comparing your results for the SII and the card sort. Attach to the packet, typed, proofread, and double-spaced. Which of the assessments more accurately describes you? Discuss how your level of competence relates to the strong like to strong dislike for a particular area. Discuss if you have any concerns about a high level of interest in a field but a low level of knowledge or skill. Discuss if the description of the top ten careers fit your personal interests and fit the areas of interest on the card sort (use your chart completed in class to compare).
Check your class syllabus for the appropriate due date!
This is a 10 point assignment.
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Adapted from Career Exploration for College Students. Using the Strong and MBTI Tools to Help You Chart Your Course by Judith Grutter